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Frank Hayes (unionist)
Encyclopedia
Frank J. Hayes was a miner
and president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) from 1917 to 1920.
He was born in the coal mining town of What Cheer, Iowa
, in 1882, but moved with his family as a boy to Illinois
. At the age of 13, he began working in the coal mines.
He joined the United Mine Workers and held a number of local union offices before being elected secretary-treasurer of District 13 in 1904. A socialist
, he allied himself with the radical left-wing of the miners' union and agitated for greater militancy and adoption of socialism as the union's only economic and political philosophy.
He was elected an international vice president in 1901. While a vice president, he helped strategize and organize the Paint Creek-Cabin Creek strike of 1912
in West Virginia and the Colorado Coal Strike of 1913-1914 (during which the Ludlow Massacre
occurred).
During his tenure on the UMWA executive council, he unsuccessfully ran for governor of Illinois on the ticket of the Socialist Party of America
.
When UMWA president John P. White
resigned in 1917 to take a federal government job, Hayes was elected president to succeed him.
Hayes' tenure as UMWA president was not an effective one. He was not a firm leader, and lacked administrative abilities. His health deteriorated quickly during his presidency, probably due to alcoholism. By 1919, he turned most of his duties over to John L. Lewis
, who was named the union's acting president.
Hayes resigned the office of president in 1920. Although he retained a position and salary as an international field representative, he retired to Colorado
where he wrote labor songs and poetry (much of it concerning the Ludlow Massacre).
In 1937, he was elected lieutenant governor of Colorado. He served one term.
Hayes died on June 10, 1948, in Denver, Colorado
.
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
and president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) from 1917 to 1920.
He was born in the coal mining town of What Cheer, Iowa
What Cheer, Iowa
What Cheer is a city in Keokuk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 678 at the 2000 census.- The name What Cheer :When the future What Cheer was founded in 1865, it was named Petersburg for Peter Britton, the settlement's founder. This name was rejected by the Post Office, forcing a...
, in 1882, but moved with his family as a boy to Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. At the age of 13, he began working in the coal mines.
He joined the United Mine Workers and held a number of local union offices before being elected secretary-treasurer of District 13 in 1904. A socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, he allied himself with the radical left-wing of the miners' union and agitated for greater militancy and adoption of socialism as the union's only economic and political philosophy.
He was elected an international vice president in 1901. While a vice president, he helped strategize and organize the Paint Creek-Cabin Creek strike of 1912
Paint Creek-Cabin Creek strike of 1912
The Paint Creek-Cabin Creek strike of 1912 was a confrontation between striking coal miners and coal operators in Kanawha County, West Virginia, centered around the area enclosed by two streams, Paint Creek and Cabin Creek....
in West Virginia and the Colorado Coal Strike of 1913-1914 (during which the Ludlow Massacre
Ludlow massacre
The Ludlow Massacre was an attack by the Colorado National Guard on a tent colony of 1,200 striking coal miners and their families at Ludlow, Colorado on April 20, 1914....
occurred).
During his tenure on the UMWA executive council, he unsuccessfully ran for governor of Illinois on the ticket of the Socialist Party of America
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
.
When UMWA president John P. White
John White (unionist)
John Phillip White was a miner and president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1911 to 1917....
resigned in 1917 to take a federal government job, Hayes was elected president to succeed him.
Hayes' tenure as UMWA president was not an effective one. He was not a firm leader, and lacked administrative abilities. His health deteriorated quickly during his presidency, probably due to alcoholism. By 1919, he turned most of his duties over to John L. Lewis
John L. Lewis
John Llewellyn Lewis was an American leader of organized labor who served as president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1920 to 1960...
, who was named the union's acting president.
Hayes resigned the office of president in 1920. Although he retained a position and salary as an international field representative, he retired to Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
where he wrote labor songs and poetry (much of it concerning the Ludlow Massacre).
In 1937, he was elected lieutenant governor of Colorado. He served one term.
Hayes died on June 10, 1948, in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
.